


Star Crossed Enemies

by Pinkrose29325



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinkrose29325/pseuds/Pinkrose29325
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a post-TFA AU where Rey and Kylo Ren must pretend to be in a relationship and complications ensue (because they always do). Force bond is in the mix here as well. Rating is at a T for now but there are probably (definitely) smutty chapters ahead so it'll go up. This is my first published fic, so any comments or suggestions would be a huge help!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s Rey’s idea.

Kylo Ren is violently opposed to the idea; so violently that he spends a good ten minutes destroying an entire couch before he even lets Rey explain how the plan will work.

“Look, there’s no way the Resistance is just going to let you on Base without some reassurance that you’re not dangerous. Short of freezing you in carbonite, this is the best way to keep you from getting killed on the spot.” She paces, ignoring the shreds of couch that are scattered on the floor. “I don’t like this any better than you do, but we’re short on time and options.”

Rey’s not sure this is going to work. It’s her idea, and she knows it has the possibility of working, and it’s definitely better than just showing up at the Base and hoping for the best, but she’s still not sure she can do it. Rey’s a good actress; she’s had to be. On Jakku, if she wasn’t pretending she wasn’t scared when other scavengers looked over her haul and gauged if they could take it or not, faking a confidence that she didn’t always have, she never would have eaten, much less survived (mostly) unharmed. But this is different. 

Kylo Ren runs a gloved hand absently through his hair; his mask is nestled in what used to be one of the couch cushions. It is slightly distracting to be able to see his face, to be reminded that he’s a person and not simply the stark figure that’s been the terrorizing specter of the First Order, but it also makes it easier for Rey to predict what he’s thinking, and for that she’s grateful. 

“So this _option _, this ridiculous _plan _of yours, that’s what you think is going to be the easiest way for us to waltz on Base and not get killed?” says Kylo Ren, the barely concealed undercurrent of rage that runs so close to the surface harshly tinging his words.____

Rey sighs. “I didn’t say it was going to be easy. I said it was the best way, but it’s definitely going to be…difficult. We’re going to have to be really convincing from the get-go and make everyone immediately believe it.” She stops, hesitates. “And we’re going to have to practice.”

There’s a pause. A pause that turns stifling as Kylo Ren takes her words in and then--

“What do you mean, _practice _?” Kylo Ren says, with gentle menace, and Rey feels the air around her ever-so-slightly constrict. She swallows twice, nervously, unsure of how to explain further without digging herself into a deeper hole, or worse, igniting Kylo Ren’s temper again. Out of the corner of her eye she can see the smoldering shreds of what used to be the couch; it’s not reassuring in the slightest.__

“I know you don’t want to do this, and I sure as hell don’t want to, but we’re going to have to make sure before we get there that we’re at least somewhat used to, you know,” Rey flaps her hand in front of her face, “uh, touching each other in public. Holding hands. Pet names? _Couple things _.” Rey hesitates; she’s not really sure what that means, if she’s honest. She’s seen the odd couple here and there on Jakku, of course, but those were usually scavengers or mercenaries, disinclined to be affectionate in public, and she’s never been with anybody either. Rey had always been waiting for her family to come back for her, and even if she’d met someone who’d interested her, she wouldn’t have wanted to get involved for fear of that relationship complicating her return home. But she has at least a vague idea from old holovids, and she knows that if they seem awkward or unused to touching each other, they’ll never be able to pull this off.__

All the same, Kylo Ren’s brow furrows, and he somehow manages to look even more dangerous than he did while melting couch cushions. “I take that to mean that you would prefer for us to spend time together becoming more…intimate,” he says, in a voice that is no longer altered by his helmet; it is deliberately warm, silken, and very, very dangerous. Rey shivers at the suggestiveness of the sentence and the tone of his voice

“I would _prefer _not to have to any of this; I would _prefer _to drop you off at the Base and leave without having to deal with the situation at all, but I’m stuck and we’re going to practice and that’s that.”____

Kylo Ren knows she’s right. Physically, he doesn’t mind, not really; she looks strangely appealing, just then, for a scavenger. Her cheeks are dark red from anger and embarrassment, making her freckles stand out more clearly, and her eyes are wide and shimmering with that anger she is trying desperately to reign in. It’s the temptation and the distraction that she represents that trouble him, and for that, he knows he’s going to have to be careful and stay focused on the mission that’s in front of them.

“Fine, then,” Kylo Ren says, somewhat stiffly. “We’ll make it part of our daily routine. We have a week until the rendezvous. That should be sufficient time for us to learn how to do _couple things _.” He imbues that phrase with so much sarcasm that he almost chokes on it.__

Rey takes a deep breath, but before she can say anything, Kylo Ren very flatly says “No.” Rey frowns, but Kylo Ren keeps going. “We’re not starting today.” Rey frowns harder and opens her mouth to protest, but Kylo Ren is implacable; he turns, scoops up his helmet and puts it back on in one smooth motion. He pauses at the doorway, looks over his shoulder at her for a moment, then says, once more in the modulated voice of his helmet, “We’ll start tomorrow. If we survive tonight.” And then he’s gone in a swirl of cloak and heavily booted footsteps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic title is straight from this song
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j2wOCz-Iik
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! I already have the next couple of chapters mapped out so hopefully it shouldn't take me too long to update!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see why Rey and Kylo Ren are in the same place at all and there's a flashback and a bit of violence

Rey waits for a minute until she’s sure Kylo Ren is gone, and then leaves the room as well, to head to her own quarters. She tries to blank her mind to get some sleep, but it keeps sticking on one memory in particular until she gives in and lets it wash over her.

_It was right after she had landed on the safehouse planet. She was on a mission to retrieve data from a Resistance informant, and for stealth purposes, she had been tasked with going solo on the mission. Nervous about her first mission alone, she’d nevertheless been proud that she’d finally been chosen to handle such an important mission, and she’d even asked Poe for advice, although that advice (“Don’t get captured,” said with an easy grin, but she’d felt the seriousness underneath) had been less than helpful, and certainly less than comforting._

_She had felt the buzzing, prickling awareness that was Kylo Ren’s presence in her mind, and although Rey had been cautious and vigilant, she hadn’t picked up his ship on any of her instruments. When she landed at the remote village that was the closest port to the safehouse, there had only been a few other ships, none of which looked like First Order ships, so she’d moved on to the safehouse after trading for supplies, chalking up her awareness to nerves over the next stage of her mission. Once at the safehouse, though, she had heard the unmistakable sound of aircraft, and had run outside to see an old, shabby space vessel. It was hardly space-worthy, much less fitting for a high-ranking member of the First Order, and it wasn’t until the ramp opened and a familiar hooded figure strode across the grass that she realized who exactly was on that ship._

_Although he stopped several feet away from her with his hands up in supplication, her hand had automatically reached for her saberstaff, and she brought the ignited blade up to point at him. “That’s close enough,” she had said firmly, although inside her panic was threatening to overwhelm her._

_Kylo Ren had told her that he’d escaped from the First Order after he had almost killed Snoke. He was wearing his mask, so the sentence came out in the metallic rasp of the modulator, and Rey simply couldn’t comprehend what he had just said._

_“Like I’d believe whatever a creature in a mask told me,” she had hurled at him, echoing their previous confrontation, not sure if she really was ready to see his face again, but knowing it was better than trying to face down the inscrutable figure of a masked Kylo Ren._

_There’d been a moment of perfect stillness, then he had cocked his head to the side, considering, and then once again reached up, flicking the release clips and drawing off his battered helmet, letting it drop to the floor with a jarring *thud*. The line she’d scored across his face had faded, but it still cast a harshness to his features that were at odds with his wide, soft mouth and gently curling hair._

_“Why don’t you see for yourself,” he had said quietly, beckoning to her, and when she realized he wanted her to read his mind, she had recoiled._

_“I don’t want to be anywhere inside your mind!”_

_Rey was afraid._

_He sighed once, frustrated, closed his eyes as if searching for patience, his emotions flickering across his face in an easily-read parade. Then he had opened his eyes again, saying, “What choice do you have? You either trust my word or you don’t, and this is the fastest way to see for yourself that I’m telling the truth.”_

_He was right, and Rey knew it, but she certainly hadn’t liked it. She had worked so hard to keep him out, to keep their Force bond from widening, and she’d been afraid that once she did this, venturing into his mind, it would be like a dam bursting and she’d lose herself in resulting flood. But she also had to know if he was telling the truth, so she had nodded and closed her eyes, steeling herself to open the bond between them._

_“It’ll be easier for you if we have skin-to-skin contact,” Kylo Ren had said, and her eyes had flown open, alarmed. Rey did not want to touch this man, this murderer, this **monster**._

_Pressing her lips together in an angry line and gritting her teeth to keep her temper in check, Rey had moved forward, hesitated, and then reached up to touch the tips of her fingers to Kylo Ren’s temples. He had inclined his head so she didn’t have to reach up quite so far, and the look on his face at the touch of another human was something Rey couldn’t stand, so she’d hurriedly closed her eyes and **concentrated**. _

_The Force whispered to her, telling her what to do, and she sent herself through the bond to Kylo Ren’s mind. It was surrounded by barriers so strong that she marveled at how she was ever able to breach them that first time. There’s a door that is open just the tiniest sliver, and she went up to it and pushed it wide open, and then she was tumbling into Kylo Ren’s mind._

_It was terrifying. Too many memories rushed past her, memories of pain and death and horror and rage, and undercutting all of them is an aching loneliness and self-loathing that wrenched at her until she almost couldn’t bear it. There are memories here too of happiness and sweetness, but they are brittle and faded and so weak that it’s a miracle they still exist. Rey had almost forgotten who she was and why she’s there, but a small voice whispered “Focus, Rey” and she was able to come back to herself enough to look once more for the memory she needed._

_There._

_Kylo Ren, after yet another battle with Rey, a battle that had left them both terribly injured, had faced the cruel disappointment of the Supreme Leader; a disappointment that had resulted in a torture so brutal that even Kylo Ren himself could no longer stand it. Rey had felt the immense mental pain that he had suffered, the sharp thorns that had ravaged his mind as he had screamed until he coughed up blood. She had felt his bones crack and twist as Snoke had showed him the error of his ways by worsening each injury Rey had inflicted on him until Kylo Ren was sprawled on the floor in the old temple, no grace or pride left. She felt, too, the desperation that prompted Kylo Ren to finally lash out against his master, to throw a desperate push of the Force at Snoke. It had gone wild and knocked out several pillars, one which had fallen Snoke and rendered him unconscious, and Kylo Ren, too weak to do much more than crawl out of the temple to avoid its collapse, had barely made it off-planet in the resulting confusion._

_Rey had stumbled back, both of them breathing heavily; she had stared at him in shock for a moment, still feeling the ghost of the injuries Snoke had inflicted on him. Rey had looked at him more closely and had noticed the shadows of fading bruises and the stiff way he held his left arm, and had realized that he really was telling the truth. She had struggled internally for a moment, then had sighed, switched off her saberstaff, and said quietly, “You’d better come inside and explain the rest. Like what, precisely, you’re doing **here**.” _

Rey can feel the touch of Kylo Ren’s mind as the memory leaves her, but she’s too drained from reliving it to send much more than a feeble pulse of irritation at him for intruding. He gets the hint, though, and withdraws, but she can sense his confusion as to why she’s thinking about it. Exhausted, Rey doesn’t have time to dwell on it for long before sinking into a sleep that’s centered disturbingly on how vulnerable Kylo Ren had looked after laying open his mind to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait in between updates! It's my last semester of grad school and it's been kicking my ass, but hopefully there won't be too much time before I post the next one! As always, this fic is un-beta'd so any mistakes are entirely my own. Thank you so much for the comments and kudos on the last chapter; let me know how you felt about this one!


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